Kiss of Poison
by Guardian3
Summary: a 'first kiss' scenario; kind of dream-like and fantastical. (yaoi: HxK)
1. The Kumo no Onna

*********************  
Kiss of Poison  
by: Guardian  
guardian@phayze.com  
personal rating: 7/10  
********************* 

A Note from the Author:

I really liked the idea for this one, but it didn't come out as good as I had hoped. ^^;; I would have just scraped it, but with me it's hard, once I've written something, to re-write it completely from scratch. So, yes. There it is. 

I would also like to thank all of those who have read my two meak little fics and left reviews. ^_^ And to answer someone's question (sorry, I have a horrible memory...) Yes, there will be a sequel to Kitsune Tears. It's called Of Mortals and Mistresses, so keep an eye out for it. It'll be on its way soon. Promise.

ja!

~ Guardian

*******************************************

**Part One: The Kumo no Onna**

::_Kurama . . . _::

Kurama hesitated for a moment and glanced over his shoulder, his green eyes slightly narrowed as if what he saw - absolutely nothing; an empty sidewalk - was not what he had expected to see. With an ease born of practice he tuned out the loud, albeit familiar sounds of Yuusuke and Kuwabara joking and fooling around, accompanied by Keiko's scolding and Yukina's soft, timid laughter. They were all heading home after a night of second-rate dinner and a movie or two - to which even Hiei had attended, although it had taken Kurama nearly an hour to cajole him into it. But all night he had been having the weirdest feeling, like he was being . . . watched. Followed. And not just as if something were Hunting him. - No, he remembered that feeling all too well, and it wasn't quite similar to this new feeling. It was like whoever was watching him was . . . analyzing him. Sizing him up, although for what, he wasn't sure.

::_Kurama . . ._::

"Hey, Kurama! What's up, man? You getting paranoid or something?" Yuusuke called to him from where he stood, his arms wrapped around Keiko as he half-danced her around the sidewalk. She was laughing, and playfully reached back to hit his thigh as he grinned.

Kurama offered the two of them one of his quiet smiles - the kind that had always made the girls at his school swoon. "Perhaps, Yuusuke." He glanced back again, his voice lowering a bit as he once again tried to separate one nightly shadow from another in hopes of revealing the hidden creature that had kept such a keen eye upon him all night. "I can't shake this feeling, though . . . that something's watching us . . ." 

"_Mm . . . a smart one, then. Intriguing . . ._" 

Kurama whirled to face the husky purr of a voice - only to find himself staring at the face of a brick wall. Immediately his eyes fled up, following instinct alone, to behold a woman casually laying upon her back, pressed against the wall, lounging upon the stone as if it were a couch of velvet blankets instead. Immediately he stilled from the defensive crouch in which he had fallen, just as Hiei flittered from the shadows surrounding to stand guard by his side. 

The woman on the wall appeared pleased by the strangled shouts of surprise the rest of the Reikai Tantrei gave - as well as the gawking that ensued from the two most human of the males in presence. She gave them all a smooth, liquid smile, lifting her left shoulder in a single deliberately seductive movement - just enough to cause one thin black strap of her clothing - or lack there of - to slip down. She was dressed in what only a naked woman would consider as moderate wraps - a plastic-leather halter that framed every curve of her breasts to cut off abruptly beneath, cut just so as to appear as if it were dripping down the slim curve of her belly. Settled at a rakish angle upon perfectly formed hips hung a thin, black-leather belt, from which in turn dangled random, multiple strips of some indefinable cloth that resembled silken sheets of black webbing. This shimmered a dusky silver-grey as she moved, drawing first one leg up and then another in slow, wanton movements that allowed just enough flesh as to be improper to be seen. Wrapped around her arms were a pair of black-netted gloves that hooked just at her thumbs and drew high to her elbow - around her upper-arms were banded twin tattoos of spider-webbing, each marred only by the presence of a single pale golden-and-rose butterfly. These had been touched up with some shimmering paint or such and sparkled beneath the waxy light of the street lamps as she moved - the beauty a strange and startling contrast to the plain, almost sickly tone of her grey-tanned flesh. Her hair was some-what short and untamed, creating a slightly wild halo of black that was tinged in the darkest shade of red and framed the slim, cool perfection of her face. Her lips were full and almost pettish with a teasing, seductive pout to them that hinted upon deadly innocence, coupled with the solid black coloring that lay just so upon them. And her eyes . . . where they lay narrowed in slits as she tilted her head back, hinted at being such a sharp color of a dusky metallic iron shade, interlaced with jaded tones of black and red and grey. Each were sliced through by a single black line of pupil - cat's eyes that dug poisoned claws in Kurama's soul by mere sight alone. 

Beneath, upon her neck, lay a black-leather collar, studded with tiny spikes that somehow resembled spiders; from it dangled a single, white-gold butterfly that lay nestled comfortably within the dipping hollow of her throat. 

In short, she was every convict's favorite wet-dream. 

Kurama slowly lifted an eyebrow, watching as she writhed and moved seductively against the wall, seemingly oblivious to the acts of gravity. Beyond him Yuusuke and Kuwabara were frozen in shock - their jaws practically hitting the ground - while Keiko and the girls grew visibly flustered. The woman knew how beautiful, how deadly she looked - and how each turn and aspect of her very being hinted at shadowed desires and the unspoken, primal needs of every mortal. She was lust incarnate, and well she knew how to flaunt her charms. 

She arched against the wall, tilting her head back again as her leg drew up, causing the web-like tatters of her skirts to flow aside and reveal one perfectly formed thigh all the way up to the turn of her hip. She gave a second faint smile, just enough to reveal straight white teeth - marked by two long, sharp fangs. 

"_Kurama . . ._" 

"What do you want?" Kurama lowered his chin. He didn't know this woman - had never seen her in either one of his lives - and yet she was somehow familiar. It wasn't a memory - more an instinctive sense of familiarity, made surreal by the fact that she seemed to have virtually no youki . . . although she was obviously a demon. 

The woman's lips parted in a silent, smiling gasp, apparently pleased at the fact that he was unmoved by her appearance as well as her actions. "_Just you, koinu . . ._" 

Hiei snarled, leaping forward, drawing his katana as he did so in preparation for an attack. "_I wouldn't do that, darling._" The woman whispered, tilting her head and letting it fall back to rest against the wall as she languidly writhed again. Instantly Hiei stilled, his sword only half-drawn. 

He growled, baring his fangs in a guttural snarl of rage. "Kisama!" 

"_Ah, young jealousy, not yet newly formed._" She purred, closing her eyes and shifting once more, one slim arm drawing up to curve above her head in a fully conscious motion of sensuality that caused every noticeably feminine part of her appear more-so. "_How . . . precious._" Smiling again, she glanced at the others in the savoring manner of the cat who has caught her mice, and was picking, choosing - slowly and with the utmost in leisurely power - the one with which she would dine upon first. "_Move._" She instructed in a bare-threaded whisper, lifting her hand to motion almost lazily to the side; with strangled shouts and muffled shrieks the Reikai Tantrei found themselves wrapped within grey-black webbing and lifted, held still and immobile where they had stood - all but Hiei, who was still caught within her spell, his muscles straining against it as hard as he possibly could. Tiny wisps of black smoke were beginning to arise from his arm, but whatever spell she had cast it was a strong one and prepared for such things; he was only able to summon a minute portion of his ki - not enough to even called his black fire. She watched this in pleasure for a moment, before she then turning her gaze back to Kurama, piercing him clean through to his youko soul as her eyes flared that dark, molten silver shade again. "_And now . . .for you._" 

There wasn't so much a flicker of speed as a shifting of reality from one radius to another - and she no longer lay elevated upon the wall, but stood upon the ground, only a leap away from him. Her head was bowed; she stared up at him through ragged black locks of hair as she slowly, tauntingly advanced. Kurama tried to step back, tried to move away, and yet he found he couldn't. Whatever spell she had cast upon Hiei was now upon him as well and held, strengthened by the enigmatic flare within her eyes that he simply could not look away from. She was stalking him, smooth, reptilian in her movements - spider-like, a part of his mind noted, although she was slower than the creature of her being, for she took her time, lingering upon each step as if to taunt him. Or rather, not him, but - 

She reached up and framed his face with her hands, guiding him to lower himself, to kneel before her. He was helpless to stop her, his body strangely pliant and obedient as she willed it so. Her hands were cold like ice upon him and he grimaced, yet could do no more. Seeing that flinch, sensing his unease and wary panic, she smiled as she leaned closer, her lips parting to reveal those sharp saber-like fangs. "_Don't be frightened, koinu._" She whispered for him alone. "_This won't hurt a bit . . ._" 

And yet still, he flinched as she gently bit his lower lip. She smiled at this, and then - with Hiei's muffled roar of fury echoing in the alleyway behind her - she kissed him. Barely had her lips touched his own before she forced his to part; tilting his head back, she kissed him deeper still, leaving the others to stare in shock at the sensual, erotic display of feminine power over masculine beauty. He did not kiss her back, yet in a way he did not need to, for all the enthusiasm he lacked, she made up for, her tongue slipping past his teeth before he had even gathered his wits enough to realize what she was doing. 

It was like being kissed by a snake; fast, smooth, fierce and deadly. She tasted of all things forbidden; of late nights out and hidden secrets, of evil deeds and masochistic delights. She tasted of poison . . . 

His eyes snapped open, yet she still would not release him; his gaze clouded over in fear and pain before his eyes squeezed tightly shut once more. A soft, pleading whimper was the only sound within the silence of the night; a single tear slipping down his cheek was the only hint to his plight. This was followed, mocked, by a thin trail of dark black liquid that escaped the movement of their combined lips, slipping free from the corner of his mouth. 

Slowly, gradually, the woman eased the near-violent kiss as calmly as she had begun it, leaving him weak and trembling where he kneeled. His eyes were dulled by a haze of drug-induced sleep, a vague, illusive type of fear the only emotion hinting within them before he slipped from her grasp to collapse upon the ground at her feet. She looked down at him, then kneeled by his side, on hand moving out to hover in passing gesture over his mouth and chest. This, of course, was punctuated by a third snarling curse - as well as a noticeable weakening of the spell she had cast upon the fire-demon. She airily glanced over her shoulder to see Hiei forcing himself to take a step forward, sweat gathering on his brow as he battled to lift his fully drawn katana in stance. A dark, thick cloud of spirit-flame surrounded his whole form now - not just his arm - and cast an eerie, ice-black glow that illuminated him against the normal backdrop of the mundane night. She watched him, too, for a moment, her lip inching up to bare a single fang. 

He matched the grimace with a baring of his own; she appeared delighted and rose to her feet, moving to stand before him as she had Kurama. With every step closer she came, the spell condensed and grew stronger, until it was thrice the power it had been. Hiei snarled as she reached out to him - he even tried to bite her fingers, yet she easily dodged this, her hands darting forward to catch his jaw and tilt his head back. He was ready for her; if she even came close, he was going to sink his fangs into her throat, and perhaps she knew this. Or perhaps, her intention had not been to kiss him as she had Kurama, after all. 

- For she was smiling as she leaned closer, and she was smiling as she softly, almost tenderly kissed the ward covering his jagan. Her cold hands were almost gentle as she turned his face to the side; her voice was almost a purr as she whispered in his ear, "_The poison of my kiss, hotaru, only lasts until another is given._" 

She drew back, petting his cheek, tapping the end of his nose lightly as his fangs clicked shut a bare inch from her retreating hand. She glanced once at Yuusuke, at Kuwabara, at Keiko and Yukina, before giving them each a lovely, swirling-dance of a bow, her web-like skirts flowing in the air around her. And then, as quietly, as mystically as she had appeared . . . she departed. 

Hiei surged forward and fell to his knees as the others were likewise dumped unceremoniously to the ground; cursing, he quickly made his way to Kurama's side, shouldering Yuusuke out of the way as he did so. Yukina was already there, her tiny hands glowing a pale, surrealistic blue shade. Tears were gathering in her eyes; a muffled sob escaped her lips as she found that she could do nothing. There was no actual wound - only a poison that was slowly making its way through his system - something that even the most talented of Healers could not erase. Hiei growled thickly in the back of his throat, bristling, his hand clenching tight into a fist by his thigh. His crimson gaze lay intently upon Kurama's face, bidding him wake - unsuccessfully - by force of will and fury alone. 

**~@~**

"Did she look . . . something like this?" 

A book was set before him - an ancient, dusty book with pages that were old and crinkled and yellowed with age. He glared down at the strange, archaic writing on one page before transitioning his gaze to the other - 

He snarled, just as Yuusuke, who stood just beyond his shoulder shouted, "Yeah! That was her . . . only she didn't have those wing things . . . are those wings?" Yuusuke grabbed up the book and held it an inch from his nose, squinting to try and make out any form of details within the picture lain before them. 

"They could be considered wings." Genkai was staring at Hiei, whose expression was down-right murderous, and whose hand had not left the hilt of his katana since they had come to her temple. Kurama's unconscious body had been placed on a blanket in the other room; for the past hour Yuusuke had been relating the night's events, while Genkai listened in an effort to find the reasoning and the cure for the strange woman's poison. The first step was to find out who exactly the woman was - thus the necessity of confirming that the picture within one of her ancient books was the correct one. 

Yuusuke grimaced, turning the book on its side - as if that would help make the sketch any more clear than it already was. "They look like scraps of cloth." 

"Webnets." Genkai took the ancient book from his hands - almost snatched it, as a trace of aggravation momentarily took place of the sensei-calm she normally exuberated. "They are scraps of netting made of spider-webs." Carefully she shut her volume and replaced it on the shelf where she had retrieved it. "The creature you met in that alleyway goes by the name of the Kumo no Onna. She is, in the most basic of descriptions, a goddess." Genkai's hard eyes bored into Yuusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei in turn - lingering upon the last. "You are dealing with no mortal, here." 

"Ah, we can handle her!" Yuusuke brushed her warning off airily; he got a club upside the head for it, too, and blink dazedly as Genkai frowned. 

"You only _think_ you can handle her because you are ignorant! This is not one of your everyday demons you run up to, fight, defeat, and run about your merry way. This is a being that is immortal - that has been alive since the beginning of Time and even before. This is a creature just as powerful as the God of Death, himself." 

"Koenma?" Yuusuke reared back a little, with a weird, disbelieving look upon his face. 

"No. Koenma is only the son of the God of Death." Genkai folded her hands within her sleeves and met his gaze. "I am speaking of Enma Daiou. Come." She guided them over to another set of shelves, where she pulled out an ancient book about as thick as Kuwabara's head. "For all your activities within the Reikai, you have only been skirting the whole of the Beyond. There are a thousand gods and goddesses - both of human as well as demon. Each is just as powerful as another, although they are still classified as Greater and Lesser gods. Enma Daiou and his son - being the Gods of Death - are considered of the Highest level." She split the book and flipped through about a fourth of it before showing them an illustration of Enma Daiou and Koenma on the left page, and a sketch of a tall, graceful young woman on the opposing page with the name "_Eien_" scrawled beneath it. "In the second level, there includes the gods that are familiar and common to many humans and demons. Kami, for instance, and Inari." Hiei scowled at the two sketches that appeared as she flipped through another few pages. One - with the word "_Inari_" scrawled at the bottom - faintly resembled Kurama, although it was definitely feminine, and had a golden mane as opposed to silver. "The _Kumo no Onna_ is a god of the third level - not quite so widely known as the others, yet as I stated before, just as powerful." Another few pages were flipped, to show the dark creature of earlier on the left page, opposed and balanced by an exceptionally beautiful young goddess with long, sun-blonde hair and gentle features, dressed within flowing gowns of white and gold. "Her kiss, they say, is of the most deadliest poison, and can be cured by only one thing." 

Yuusuke - who was looming over Hiei's shoulder, since with Genkai's height she appeared to be showing the pictures to the fire-demon more than anyone else - was the first to form his thoughts into a (somewhat) incomplete question. "Which is?" 

"She is balanced, power for power, ability for ability, by the _Kochou no Otome._" Genkai indicated the pale, blonde grace on the opposing page. "Where the _Kumo no Onna_'s kiss brings death, the _Kochou no Otome_'s kiss brings life. Her kiss is the only antidote." 

_The poison of my kiss, hotaru, only lasts until another is given._

Hiei's fist clenched around his sword-hilt. "Where?" He barked gruffly, a single fang digging into his lower lip in a silent half-snarl. Genkai glanced his way coolly, before shutting the volume she had and replacing it once more. 

"It is not so much a where, as to a how." 

**~@~**  
To Be Continued . . .  
**~@~**


	2. The Kochou no Otome

*********************  
Kiss of Poison  
by: Guardian  
guardian@phayze.com  
personal rating: 7/10  
********************* 

**Part Two: The Kochou no Otome**

Hiei stood in a world of solid white, framed of pearl-smooth walls that dipped and curved in waves that somehow mimicked froth-laced waves curling over in their peaks to slid back down, easing to the glass-clear floor. That delicate, pristine beauty was tainted as a thick droplet of red - deeper, darker than any other having at once felt along the crystal - fell to gather in tiny, ragged tear-like pools at his feet. Blood . . . not enough to betray any deadly wound, yet still dripping, proof of the slash across one upper arm and shoulder. His clothes were slightly ripped and shaded in sweat and dust from the battle he had just foregone; a faint bruise marked the lower line of his jaw, reflective of the hard, narrow wariness of his eyes. 

His katana was still out and poised, the edge still lined in blood and dirt; only the sight of his left arm cradled against his waist, coupled with the vague, near non-existent favoring of his left ankle gave explanation for the blood, as there his shirt was ripped open and stained. No other sign of weakness was revealed; not even the set of his jaw gave hint to the fact that he may or may not have felt the pain of such a wound. 

He glanced one way and then another with the utmost in caution, advancing step upon step in silence, his senses expanded to their fullest in which to encompass all sight, sound, or warning given them. The vague sluggishness to his left ankle drew the droplets of blood that had fallen to small, smearing lines, leaving a trail of determination behind as he moved; his focus was pure and narrowed upon his intent alone. 

The explanations had been simple and brief; Genkai's cryptic message of 'not so much a where, as to a how' had been received with a little less than the utmost in enthusiasm, and her complete explanation even more so. The _Kochou no Otome_ was not to be found in any easy manner, it seemed, for not only was she a god who chose not to normally interact with either the world of the humans or the demons - rather, she _couldn't_. Thousands of years ago she had separated herself from all three of the worlds, for she found she could not bear to feel the pain, the hurt, the anguish, in any - however slight, or excessive. She locked herself away in a realm of her own creation, and only the most worthy could pass into it. 

The 'most worthy' were chosen by way of skill, honesty, and desperation. Each soul which dared to try and approach her realm were tried by three tests in a place beyond Genkai's temple, yet not quite in another world. The first test, was that of one in battle. Yuusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei accepted this challenge without so much as a back-glance, in the off-chance that it might mean saving their friend. They tore into the insubstantial demons that came at them, watching as the cold, ice-marble floor grew dark and slick with blood. They had fought as usual; each separated and yet allied. And then Kuwabara had need Yuusuke's help, and Yuusuke found his rei gun barred from offering such, for some vague power blocked his own from interfering. It was the same for Hiei - neither could help one another in the proving of their skill against the demons. And thus, Kuwabara had been the first to fall. 

The second test was that of honesty; how well did Yuusuke and Hiei, in all truth, know themselves - and know the creature that they struggled so valiantly to save? That was where Yuusuke fell - not because he was dishonest in how he knew and viewed Kurama, but because was not honest in how he thought of himself. 

It was left to Hiei, then, to face the third and final test; how desperate was he, to have Kurama back - safe, and well? 

Whatever answer that was found within him, it must have been the correct one, for he had suddenly found himself here, within this world of marble and glass, his wounds still fresh from a battle that could have commenced no more than twenty minutes before. Before him the flowing, white hallway turned a corner; cautiously it was upon this that he advanced, glancing around the turn before making his way beyond. 

In waves the white hallway folded out upon itself, opening into a chamber of cream and froth-softened color that eased the pains of the eye. Silently his eyes narrowed as he looked this way and that before allowing his gaze to settle upon the only item within. 

At first, all he could make out was what appeared to be an upraised level of the floor, piled high with white and cream silken blankets and pillows, creating a large, plush nest that would have come as high as his chest had he stood beside it. He turned his head a bit, studying the mass of blankets and pillows . . . until it shifted and a beautiful young woman pushed herself up to sit, the long, flowing locks of sun-blonde hair slipping down her shoulders to lay like a cloak about her form. 

She was an exact replica of the sketch Genkai had shown them; her gown was layer upon layer of sparkling beauty, pooling around in like the tears of a summer's rain, such that it was near impossible to state where they ended and the blankets of her nest began. Her skin was soft and porcelain-like, pale, yet sustained by the faintest touches of dawn's blush, adding life to beauty. She was slim and graceful - every movement was like the flow of water against the wind, the caress of a breathy whisper - her face heart-shaped, yet delicate. Her lips were lined and colored in a shimmering golden shade, as were her eyelids and the outlying corners of her eyes, magnifying the soft, sparkling intensity of the shear golden-blue of her gaze. A single circlet of gold held back the curling locks of hair from her face; below, fastened about the smooth flesh of her throat lay a single ribbon of pale, cream-lace, from which glimmer a single, white-gold spider. 

She was the embodiment of every whispering hope, every flicker of a dream that ever came to touch any heart with hands as gentle as down. She was beauty incarnate. 

She was every child's last innocent wish. 

Her gaze, although soft and compassionate, held only innocent curiosity in sight of him. There was no revulsion, no fear, and no worry in view of his stained katana, torn clothes, nor the blood that dripped from his wound to splatter - the only movement, the only sound - upon the floor. She, too, tilted her head, contemplating his presence in her realm, even as he stared back, immobile and silent. 

After a moment of gazing deeply into the solid crimson of his eyes, she appeared to find what she had been searching for, and a look of understanding replaced most of the curiosity. 

"_Oh. I see, now . . ._" she whispered, her voice a thin, echoing chime that resonated easily within the chamber, yet remained quiet, soft, insubstantial. "_Come, Hiei . . ._" 

One tiny hand lifted and beckoned to him; with a firm line to his jaw, his hand clenched upon the hilt of his blade. He moved closer, the dirt, the blood upon his clothes and the slight limp to his step somehow pronounced all the more in the sight of her grace. When he spoke, his tone was harsh and gruff, yet more subdued than it should have been - than it would have been, had he not been standing before her. "Tell me how to cure Kurama. What do I have to do?" 

"_You would do anything to save him . . ._" She reached out, her fingers trailing down the turn of his cheek in a bare caress as she smiled. Hiei said nothing and remained still, his muscles coiled and tight as she leaned closer. Her hand slid farther to cup the back of his neck, teasing the short, course black hair there as she breathed soft promises in his ear. "_Silence holds my kiss, Hiei, to seal the promises not yet spoken aloud._" 

He began to pull away, grimacing - and found himself drawn closer instead as the woman drew back just enough to bring her lips to meet his. He had only a second to realize what she was doing - before he found his mouth opened beneath her own. A sound escaped him - a sound of indignation, anger - yet in a moment he stilled, his crimson gaze widening in sudden realization. He held silent then, bearing her kiss as he would bear any of his sister's kindly hugs, with discomfort, patience - however strained - until she ended the kiss as she had begun it. She smiled, her fingers curling in his hair before she gave him another quick, innocent kiss and released him. 

Only her eyes lay locked to his as she lay down, reclining once more upon her blankets and pillows. "_Go to him now, Hiei. And remember -_" the tips of her fingers traced his lower lip; he scowled, yet said nothing. "_Silence . . ._" 

**~@~**

Yuusuke was the first to speak to him when he returned; he ignored the human, sparing only a single glance around Genkai's temple room when he emerged from the other realm. It was enough of a glance to confirm the fact that the wounds each of them had sustained in that separate world were no longer with them in this one; both Yuusuke as well as Kuwabara were alive, healthy, and whole. Hiei didn't care for them, though. He ignored them both and flittered out of sight instantly, Yuusuke's shout of anger following behind him as he ran to the room where Kurama's body had been placed. 

He stopped, his dark eyes taking in and accepting all sight they were given of the fox - _his fox_ - before he kneeled beside him, reaching out to touch Kurama's pale cheek. Carefully he touched his thumb to the youko's lower lip, bidding his mouth to open and then . . . he kissed him. 

The effect was immediate; the second Hiei's lips parted, releasing the golden poison the _Kochou_ had given him, Kurama reacted. A tiny, chirp-like whimper sounded in the back of his throat as he shifted beneath Hiei, his arms wrapping around the fire-demon, one curling around his neck, drawing him closer. Hiei held himself up by one hand, his other still set almost tenderly upon Kurama's jaw as he willingly gave into the fox's desperate need to take all the antidote he could. It was instinctive, this first reaction - one Hiei had only partially expected. Kurama was acting solely upon the physical needs of his ningen form as it struggled to preserve its own life. 

It was only when the antidote was mostly gone, that the reasoning for such actions was forgotten. It was only when Kurama's lips slowly, hesitantly began moving against his in a more purposeful manner, that Hiei gave into his need to truly taste the beauty he had always watched from afar. Unnoticed, the last of the golden poison escaped their lips and slid down Kurama's cheek, yet neither gave it any the least of their thoughts, as the fox himself was far too occupied at the moment, the drugged coma of the _Kumo_'s kiss falling away at the touch of Hiei's. 

The kiss was ended; Hiei teased his lips up and free from Kurama's and lifted his head. He made as if to move away then, yet Kurama's arms allowed him no more movement than that. His breathing was uneven, faint, a warmth of moist air against Hiei's throat. "_Onegai . . ._" 

Hiei looked down, his eyes to slits of crimson-red, open just enough for him to see the rosy flush to Kurama's cheeks, to be witness to the youko's need that mirrored his own. He huffed a brief laugh as the youko's touch became like velvet steel against his back, drawing him to the floor once more, straining the arm that held him up such that it folded, his fore-arm and elbow connecting dully with the wooden floor. His voice, when he managed to gather enough control to speak, was low and husky, breathy and breathless in a way he had never imagined his voice could sound. "Please what, fox?" 

"_Onegai_, Hiei . . ." Kurama's wrist curled around the back of his neck once more, drawing him lower until the last word was spoken in a brush of their lips. "More . . ." 

He kissed him then, a true kiss, as the other two were meant to have been - as they _should_ have been. Wild, fierce, and yet delicate and gentle, laced with nips and bites and teasing, flickering tongues. Dominance and submission, ferocity and gentleness . . . between them it was both and yet all. Everything beyond the two of them was forgotten - all the past, all the future, all the present - all fears, all intimidation's, all hopes and all dreams - all, forgotten in light, in lieu, of a single kiss . . . 

And then - 

"Oi, Hiei! - what was the big idea just -" 

All, shattered. 

Kurama reared up, grasping at only air as Hiei flittered out of his grip and out of sight; he was left to sprawl upon the ground, his hand clawing into a fist, a snarl upon his lips, death flaring within his eyes as he looked up . . . to see a completely oblivious Yuusuke grinning down upon him. 

"Hey, Kurama! Man, you're awake! Wow, you wouldn't believe -" 

"Yuusuke . . ." 

"Huh?" 

"You. Shall. Die." 

"What? Woa . . . listen, Kurama, you know you don't have to start glowing like . . . that . . . Kurama? Wait - no - what - AAAHHH!" 

**~@~**

"_What are they doing now_?" the maiden whispered, her face tilted up to the heavens, her golden-blue eyes wandering across the ceiling of her chamber-realm, a tiny smile wavering in sight upon her golden lips. 

"_The red-head is trying to kill one of the humans_." A low, husky purr of a voice replied, laced with the makings of sensuous laughter. "_He is chasing it through the old one's temple_." 

The maiden smiled again, a sigh escaping her as she closed her eyes. A hand lifted to press gently against her chest, right over her heart. "_Did you feel it, Kumo? Did you feel . . ._" 

"_Aa._" The spider-woman shifted to lay upon her back where she was lazily wading in the silken white blankets of the maiden's nest. Her dusky silver eyes lifted to watch the grace of the maiden's smile in silent, appraising attention. "_I felt it._" She reached up, fingering one long, curling lock of sun-blonde hair, causing the maiden to open her eyes and return her gaze. The maiden smiled again, a radiant smile warmer, more welcoming than the dawn itself. "_Although why you insist upon playing these games with mortals, and yet refuse to watch the outcome, I shall never know._" 

The maiden looked away. Her smile did not falter; if possible, it softened. "_There is a satisfaction in hearing of two creatures over-coming their fears and discovering their love for one another. Especially,_" she looked back, her gaze warm as she looked upon the spider-woman. "_If the voice that speaks of it is yours._" 

"_Kochou, you . . ._" Kumo sat up slowly, her voice a seductive purr as she drew closer, drawing the maiden in her arms. "_You are a foolish romantic._" 

Kochou glowed, her fingers towing with the butterfly charm upon the spider-woman's collar. "_Perhaps._" She whispered, accepting the kiss her lover gave her. "_But it was you who agreed to my proposal._" 

"_Mm. Which one?_" 

The Kochou laughed softly at the muffled quality to Kumo's voice - and tilted her jaw, allowing the goddess better access as her kisses trailed down her throat. "_Both, love. But I was speaking of the proposal to help me make others realize the truth of their feelings for one another._" The only response she was given was a second, more muffled reply, followed by: 

"_I had no choice; it was either do as you asked or put up with that damned disappointed look you get when I say no._" 

"_Aa. But you enjoy it as well._" 

"_ . . . perhaps._" 

"_Kumo . . . what are they doing now?_" 

Kumo lifted her head, her metallic eyes flaring that molten silver shade briefly as she transitioned her gaze from one realm and world to another. "_It looks as if the red-head's calmed down, now. The human is still alive._" 

"_And the other one - the little one?_" 

"_He is running._" 

"_Away?_" 

"_Iie. Just . . . running._" 

"_Ah._" The Kochou smiled, curling into her lover's embrace, sighing as she settled. "_The little one will return to him. . . . They will have much to over-come, those two. Just one kiss will not erase all that separates them but . . ._" She shifted, snuggling closer as the Kumo's arms wrapped around her. "_. . . . it is the beginning._" 

**~@~**  
~ End? ~  
**~@~**

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[1] Kumo no Onna - "Spider Woman"  
[2] Kochou no Otome - "Butterfly Maiden"

~~~~~ A Quick Note: ~~~~~~~~~~~ 

No, this is not spider woman, the super-hero. ^^;; These are real goddesses. 

[1] Spider Woman is a southwestern Native American goddess, who "no matter what problems or obstacles you face . . . creates the right network of energy to put you on the road toward accomplishment."  
[2] Butterfly Maiden is a _kachina_ (spirit) of spring in the Hopi tradition. She is said to help us "rediscover that graceful butterfly within each of us - the one that effortlessly rises above problems, making the world its flower."

These excerpts and definitions were taken from "365 Goddess" by Patricia Telesco. The descriptions of the two goddesses (as *ahem* Ami-chan calls them; "The Butterfly Maiden and her slut"), are solely my own. I don't know if either are portrayed as I have here. Probably not, since both are from Indian traditions, and neither have Indian blood (in my fic). ^^;;  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[3] Koinu: puppy  
[4] Hotaru: firefly   
[5] Eien: Eternal

By the By: Amiko had a fit when I sent this to her for proof-reading. She started fussing at me and asking where the rest was. As it turned out, this is it. ^^;; I only wanted a two part fic (I wrote this before "Orphans of Silence" - so it was my first short fic. The only problem is, my koi got attached to the two goddesses and wants me to write another story with them in it. Well, it's up to you guys, the reviewers. Should I, or should I not? Let me know, minna. ^_^ 


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